The nation’s oldest and richest university, which has traditionally served as a training ground for cultural elites, is rapidly emerging as a symbol of opposition to President Donald Trump.
In a stunning power struggle that may end in court, Harvard University, the most recognizable brand in American higher education, pledged this week to oppose a broad range of demands from the Trump administration.
The altercation is intensifying rapidly. More than $2 billion in subsidies to the institution have been held by federal officials after it refused to follow the Trump administration’s policy reforms, which included changing admissions and employment procedures, cracking down on student protests, and submitting to government audits. On social media on Tuesday, Trump hinted that Harvard might no longer be free from taxes and instead “be Taxed as a Political Entity.”
With a $53 billion endowment and a strong alumni network, Harvard is now in a unique position to become the most well-known American university to openly oppose Trump’s attempts to sway aspects of American civil society.
“Harvard is in a position to defend itself by virtue of its resources, its history, and its commitment to free speech,” stated Steven Hyman, a former provost and the school’s highest academic officer.
This week marks a significant turning point in Trump’s campaign to target institutions his administration perceives as hostile — and in the 388-year history of America’s wealthiest university. The conflict has been simmering for months as the Trump administration targeted other prestigious schools.
Thomas Parker, a Harvard graduate and senior associate at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, an advocacy group based in Washington, stated that politicians have historically taken pride in the fact that American higher education was the envy of the world. “The view being the opposite is unprecedented.”
Some of the most influential individuals in the West Wing, such as May Mailman, a senior policy strategist and Harvard Law School alumnus, Vince Haley, the director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Stephen Miller, Trump’s top policy adviser, are spearheading the campaign against the nation’s best universities.
Harvard now has to choose between retaliating in court or engaging in negotiations with the Trump administration. William A. Burck, who has defended numerous Trump supporters in court, and Robert Hur, a Harvard graduate who wrote a report on former President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents that conservatives pointed to as proof of his mental decline during the 2024 campaign, are the two attorneys on the right who are representing the university.
The conflict is drawing attention to Alan Garber, the president of Harvard, who was thrown into the position last year after his predecessor, Claudine Gay, resigned due to a plagiarism controversy and worries about how she handled antisemitism on campus.
Garber, a 69-year-old lifelong learner with degrees in medicine and economics, is not quite suited to lead the resistance because of his reclusive personality. However, Democrats and many on the Harvard campus are hailing his answer to Trump this week as a model for countering the president’s hostility.
The requests made by the Trump administration to the school, according to Garber’s statement on Monday, “violate Harvard’s First Amendment rights and [exceed] the statutory limits of the government’s authority.”
“What private universities can teach, who they can admit and hire, and what study and inquiry areas they can pursue should not be dictated by any government, regardless of which party is in power,” he said.
Harvard “has not taken the administration’s demand seriously,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday.
“The president is only requesting that you follow federal law so that you can continue to receive federal funding,” she stated. Trump “wants to see Harvard apologize” for “the egregious antisemitism that took place on their college campus against Jewish American students,” Leavitt continued.